Body mass, age, and the APC I1307K allele in Ashkenazi Jewish prostate cancer patients

The I1307K mutation of the adenopolyposis coli gene (APC), located on chrom osome 5q21-q22, is associated with an increased risk of cancer in Ashkenazi Jews. In the present study, we analyzed age and body mass of Ashkenazi Jew ish prostate cancer patients, with and without the APC I1307K mutation. Par ticipants in our study were found through urology and radiation oncology cl inics, and all eligible patients were asked to take part. A familial histor y was obtained by interview or self-report questionnaire. Histological conf irmation of diagnosis was obtained for all subjects. The I1307K allele of t he APC gene was detected by amplification of lymphocyte DNA from peripheral blood according to standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dot blot p rocedures. We studied 135 Ashkenazi Jewish men with prostate cancer. The yo ungest was 49, the oldest 80, average age 68 +/- 6.88 (mean I SD). The olde r patients carrying the wild type APC allele tended to have a lower body ma ss than the younger ones (r = -.27, P = .002). Of 71 patients under 70 year s old, 65 carried the wild type APC allele, and had a body mass index of 28 .7 +/- 4.23 kg/m(2) The six men under age 70 carrying the I1307K APC allele had a body mass index of 26.87 +/- 1.44 kg/m(2). The difference in body ma ss index of the two groups is significant (P = .032, t test for unequal var iance). Increased body mass is a prostate cancer risk factor, and hereditar y prostate cancer is associated with younger patients. Therefore, our findi ng, that patients under age 70 carrying the 11307K allele are significantly thinner than those carrying the wild type allele, suggests that the APC I1 307K allele is also a prostate cancer risk factor. Our results are in accor d with other studies indicating that APC mutations increase the risk of pro state cancer. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.